


Ode To The Bartender

by love_killed_the_superstar



Series: But Beautiful We Three Are [15]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Drinking, Drunken Flirting, F/F, Gay Bar, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 15:30:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15643650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: 12. “You sure took your time,” Yellow commented, taking her shot and clinking it against Blue’s before downing it in one go, pulling a face at the sour taste.“You were enjoying the slow dancing,” Pearl said defensively.“And you were enjoying the eye candy at the bar,” Yellow pointed out, sticking out her tongue in amusement.





	Ode To The Bartender

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I went there folks. The Crewniverse gave us White Pearl, and I immediately started shipping her with the other three. Who'd have thought.  
> Blue and Yellow are slow-dancing to "Hello It's Me" by Todd Rundgren, because, I love That 70s Show. And I needed a reason to justify why White is styling her hair like Princess Leia.

The bartender had been checking Pearl out all night.

It wasn’t something she was used to; besides an instance where a woman with a striking resemblance to Rose (in fact, she’d had to double check that is wasn’t her, which Yellow had very quickly accused as her showing interest) had given out her phone number, Pearl didn’t exactly have a track record of people picking her up in the bar.

It was a 70s themed night, and in between Mott The Hoople and Deep Purple, the DJ would occasionally sneak in a song from the Wyrd Sisters’ debut 1979 EP, leaving the muggles in the club scratching their heads in confusion at the namedropping of certain magical creatures while the magic folk in the club continued to scream and dance along.

Pearl was feeling pleasantly buzzed, and as a slow Todd Rundgren song started up, she left Blue and Yellow to slow dance and went off to grab another round of shots for them. The new bartender, a pale woman with hair dyed a beautiful silver, gave Pearl a knowing smile. Her hair was done up in two buns either side of head, done in a strange spiralling pattern.

“Another round of sourz?” she asked. Pearl nodded.

“Please.”

“I heard if you drink too much of it it turns your puke bright green. That true?”

Pearl wrinkled her nose, as the bartender set the glasses down.

“Um, I wouldn’t know from personal experience.”

“Well. If you ever learn the answer, let me know?”

“Why not find out yourself?”

The woman shrugged, smiling politely. “I don’t drink.”

“That’s… probably very responsible of you. Your liver will thank you.”

“I like to think so.”

Pearl scratched the back of her head sheepishly, glancing back over to Blue and Yellow. They were lost in the song, swaying with their arms around each other, occasionally leaning in closer to kiss. Pearl felt a pang of feeling left out, but also realised with a sinking feeling that they still weren’t quite comfortable being public about their polyamorous relationship, even in a room of people that would perhaps understand. They would dance together, of course, and Blue and Yellow had no qualms kissing her in the club after a few years of this routine, but the idea of being openly romantic as the three of them was untrodden waters, something they had considered but never felt brave enough to act upon. Pearl always reasoned in her head that no one in that club was sober enough to care, but… the other two had their reservations. And right now, those reservations hurt just a smidge.

“Hey.”

Pearl blinked, brought back to attention by the bartender’s voice. The woman was regarding her curiously.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah…” Pearl knocked back her own shot in two gulps, and then after a few moments, took Blue and Yellow’s too. Maybe it was selfish of her, but it was her own damn money. She could buy them another round, no problem.

“You sure? Those were for your buddies, right? They piss you off?”

“No,” Pearl said sourly. “They’re fantastic.”

“...That’s convincing.”

Pearl frowned. “It’s none of your business.”

The bartender shrugged, resting her chin in her hand. “Maybe not. But I can’t just leave a pretty girl all upset.”

Pearl blushed a little, uncertain about the compliment. “Uh… thanks? But really, I’m fine.”

“One of them break your heart? Your ex, or something?”

“What? No!”

“You have a girlfriend, then?”

“Do you?” she shot back. The silver-haired woman stopped short, before grinning.

“Nothing serious. I just thought you were cute. Thought since your friends ditched you to slow dance, you could use with a pick-me-up compliment.”

“Well, I’m already in a relationship,” Pearl huffed. Then, as an afterthought, “and I’d like three more shots.”

“Sourz again?”

“Yes.”

With a shrug, the bartender fixed up the next round of shots, and Pearl glanced back at Blue and Yellow once more. They were still dancing, completely absorbed in one another, swaying gently. The sight made Pearl love them more, but also gave her the urge to cry.

She was lonely without them.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine!” she snapped, slamming back her shot. This time, she left Blue and Yellow’s untouched. She was done discussing her overly sensitive mood swings with a stranger, thank you very much.

She regarded the bartender. She was really very pretty, with a strong nose and pale grey eye, the other eye milky. Her figure, slim and bony, was clad in a simple deep grey top, with a mesh bodice. And her hair… Pearl couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off of it, so she piped up, “How did you do your hair like that?”

“Oh, my hair?” She seemed surprised. “Just followed a video tutorial. I know this isn’t a Star Wars themed night, but it was a staple of the seventies so I thought it was valid. I didn’t grow my hair out this long for nothing.”

She gave a shrug, while Pearl struggled to comprehend anything the bartender just said to her.

“I… see.”

The bartender burst out laughing. “You look so confused. Please don’t tell me you don’t know Princess Leia.”

Pearl’s blank stare told her all she needed to know, and she cracked up laughing again.

“It’s… aw, man, I should be super bummed out you don’t recognise my hair-do after how long it took to throw it together, but you look extra adorable when you’re confused, you know that?”

Pearl wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or the loneliness, but she felt her cheeks heating up, and as the bartender gave her a lopsided grin, she felt her stomach lurch.

“I… I need to go,” she squeaked. “B-But remember, I’m in a relationship already!”

“Oh, I know that,” the woman promised, her grin only widening. “But for someone who’s already taken, you sure are taken with me.”

Pearl’s face reddened further and she grabbed the remaining shots, marching back over to Blue and Yellow with purpose as  _ Hello It’s Me _ came to an end and an early track from The Weird Sisters,  _ Gillyweed High _ , began to crank out of crackly speakers.

“You sure took your time,” Yellow commented, taking her shot and clinking it against Blue’s before downing it in one go, pulling a face at the sour taste.

“You were enjoying the slow dancing,” Pearl said defensively.

“And you were enjoying the eye candy at the bar,” Yellow pointed out, sticking out her tongue in amusement. “I know she’s hot, but you were coming on a little strong. Don’t forget who your girlfriends are, Pearl.”

Pearl felt a bubble of anger and embarrassment in her chest at Yellow’s words.

“Why - of course I haven’t forgotten! Besides, I was standing my ground. The bartender was hitting on me.”

“Oh, really?” Blue also downed her shot, shuddering a little. “That’s so weird, she hit on me earlier too. Maybe she’s a serial flirt? A woman that beautiful could get away with it, that’s for sure…”

Pearl stared.

“She... she was flirting with you too?”

“And me,” Yellow added, twirling Blue to the upbeat melody. “I have to say, it was pretty flattering. I even felt kinda good afterwards.”

“...All three of us,” Pearl stated.

“Yup.”

Pearl's stomach fluttered for a moment – a fantasy of a maddening, wonderful possibility – before reality kicked in. The likelihood of a woman finding all three of them attractive, let alone to the point of wanting to enter a relationship with them, was extremely slim. But even if that was the case here, the others didn’t seem all too interested. It was best not to get these scenarios get out of hand, after all.

“Pearl, you feeling okay? You’re very red,” Yellow pointed out, reaching over to poke her cheek. She shivered pleasantly, before saying boldly, “I’ll be right back.”

She marched back over to the bar, the alcohol in her stomach giving her a surge of confidence she never could have anticipated, and she immediately got the attention of the seductress bartender who was handing out glasses of water to a gaggle of freshers looking absolutely wasted.

“Oh, back so soon?”

“Now listen up,” barked Pearl, jabbing a finger at her, “I don’t know what your game is, why you think you can flirt with me  _ and _ my girlfriends, b-but we have a good thing going! All three of us! Yeah, that’s right! Three of us!”

“Woah woah woah-” Blue appeared beside Pearl in a heartbeat, reaching over to grab her hand. “Pearl, hon, there’s no need to yell at the bartender-”

“And there’s zero need to tell her our personal business, either,” Yellow added crossly. The two of them sandwiched her in and she pouted.

“But she should know! We all love each other and she’s trying to break us up!”

Yellow rolled her eyes.

“You’re being dramatic. I don’t know how many drinks you’ve had while me and Blue were dancing before, but some bartender putting moves on us all - which is very unprofessional, by the way-” She sent a pointed look at the woman over the counter, who beamed, completely unapologetic, “-doesn’t mean we’re breaking up. Okay?”

“I mean, I already figured you were dating. She’s been nothing but jealous of your cute slow dancing before,” the bartender inputted helpfully.

Pearl gaped.

“You knew?!”

The woman shrugged, completely unrepentant. “Sure. It’s obvious you all love each other a whole lot. Every time one of you came to the bar you ended up talking to me about the other two. Could have seen it coming a mile away.”

“S-So then why were you flirting with all of us?” Blue ventured, more confused than ever as Pearl and Yellow continued to stare, bewildered. The woman shrugged.

“Well, I can tell you’re all into polyamory. And you’re all very attractive and sensitive. I thought I’d hedge my bets.”

None of them exactly knew what to say after that. For a few minutes the three - no, make that four of them - stayed silent, flustered and mulling over the situation. Eventually the bartender was called away, and Yellow, Blue and Pearl trudged back to the dancefloor, unable to make another comment on the matter.

 

…

 

It wasn’t until the end of the night, after an hour long discussion in the bathroom and plenty more drinks, that they gathered the courage to approach the bartender as she was wiping down the counter.

“I have to say, I wasn’t expecting you back again.” She let out a little sigh, looking remorseful. “I shouldn’t have gotten so personal - or flirted with the three of you. I’m sorry. And I swear I’m being genuine, I really don’t care if you give this place a shit yelp review.”

“What’s a yelp review?” Blue whispered to Yellow.

“Fuck if I know,” she hissed back.

“Did you want to be with us?” Pearl asked, swaying just slightly from the amount of alcohol she was currently holding in her system. “You know, romantically? S-Sexually?”

The woman stared for a few moments.

“...You’re serious?”

“Well, er… maybe. If you’re open to it, we’d… consider it,” Yellow said uncomfortably, arms folded over her chest.

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say…”

“You could start with your name.”

“My name? It’s, uh… Willow. My friends call me White.”

“Willow.” Pearl said the name a few times. “Willow. White. It’s… they’re both pretty…”

“Thanks.” White scratched the back of her head nervously. “Listen, uh… I don’t want to actually, y’know, break up a relationship or anything, so if you’re not absolutely sure…”

“Just stop talking, please,” Pearl slurred. She grabbed Yellow’s smartphone from her back pocket (affectionately pinching her buttocks as she did so, earning an indignant, “hey!”) and thrust it into White’s face. “Your, ahem, ‘digits’, please.”

White entered her phone number, baffled, and Pearl sent a clumsy text, riddled with numerous typos as she fumbled with the on screen keyboard (she had somewhat of a brick phone for emergencies, and still struggled to wrap her head around texting).

_ Calll us ;le ase x _

“Don’t be a stranger,” Pearl began, a goofy smile on her face, and as Yellow yanked her phone back and the two of them led her away, presumably to catch a ride back home, White watched after them until they melted into the crowd, lost to the darkness of the club once more.

“Oh, I won’t be,” she murmured, long after they were gone. “You can count on that.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you thought, "what the fuck???? they totally rushed into this????? none of this makes sense????" ...you're right! they're drunk and not thinking straight. I'm planning a follow up piece exploring their mixed feelings about introducing a new partner into their bedroom (and eventually... their hearts...) and the three of them having a discussion about polyamory and their relationship.  
> but i'm so fucking swamped with work and social life stuff, this will most likely be the last piece (officially) for this bomb. i wanted to do the full 7 days but that's just not a possibility at this point, although i will still try to fill all the prompts i wrote up for myself. i have some tasty yangst (yellow angst) that i maaaay be able to add before i run out of time, but otherwise... yeah. sorry guys.


End file.
